Dunkirk

[ duhn-kurk ]

/ ˈdʌn kɜrk /

noun

French Dun·kerque

[dœn-kerk] /dœ̃ˈkɛrk/. a seaport in N France: site of the evacuation of a British expeditionary force of over 330,000 men under German fire May 29–June 4, 1940.

a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced: The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.

a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dunkirk

He began showing some promise in 2003, taking fifth place at race known as the Four Days of Dunkirk in May of that year.
Speed Read: Eight Shocking Bits From the USADA’s Lance Armstrong Report|Laura Colarusso, Nina Strochlic|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
That was an “Obama initiative” in about the same way that Dunkirk was a Churchill initiative.
The GOP’s One-Sided War on Dems|Michael Tomasky|September 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
If we promised her safe conduct to Dunkirk, she would go with us.
Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross|Edith Van Dyne
"Watch out now, boys," warned the captain, as the Dunkirk quarter-back began giving the signal.
Dick Hamilton's Football Team|Howard R. Garis

A famous war correspondent paid them a fleeting visit, before he was ordered twenty miles back to Dunkirk by Kitchener.
Young Hilda at the Wars|Arthur Gleason
The pigskin was neatly caught, and one of the Dunkirk players began running back with it.
Dick Hamilton's Football Team|Howard R. Garis
The little fishing-smack sailed out of Dunkirk that evening, an hour after sunset.
The Blue Pavilions|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Culture definitions for dunkirk

Dunkirk

The scene of a remarkable, though ignominious, retreat by the British army in World War II. Dunkirk, a town on the northern coast of France, was the last refuge of the British during the fall of France, and several hundred naval and civilian vessels took the troops back to England in shifts over three days.

Note

The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.